21 Pretty Nail Polish Ideas to Try This Summer

The quickest (and cheapest!) way to accessorize during summer? Dress up your fingertips and toes with cute manicures and pedicures! We’ve got fab new nail polish ideas for date night, the beach, the office and everywhere else in between.

Do an unexpected neutral nail polish like mauve.

Try the princess-approved nail polish.

If you can’t get away with wearing a tiara, at least you can glam up your Monday-through-Friday routine with a royal manicure. Slick on Essie Nail Color in Allure, $8—the same nail polish shade Kate Middleton wore down the aisle. Perfect for the office, a job interview or date night with your very own Prince Charming.

Cozy up to another regal nail polish color—majestic purple.

Jazz up your pedicure with a can’t-miss nail polish.

Flesh-tone heels give the illusion of longer legs, and a vibrant pedicure shade poking out of those nude peep-toes jazzes up the neutral shoe. Get all lacquered up in a hot cherry nail polish shade, like this one worn by Brooke Burke. Try Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel in Fire, $6, for a five-alarm red.

Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Try naked-looking nails.

A neutral manicure, like Ginnifer Goodwin’s, is like foundation for your fingertips—hands look slimmer and instantly more polished. (Another bonus? You don’t have to stress about chipped polish giving away your six-day-old mani!) The key to avoiding the plastic-looking mannequin effect: Go one shade deeper than your skin tone. One of our favorite nudes: Bernadette Thompson nail polish in Cashmere, $15.

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty

Shine on with a metallic manicure.

A bling-y manicure plus a sequined dress sounds like glitter overkill, but actress Daniella Monet pulls it off by keeping her nails chic and short. And for a manicure that lasts, do your prep work. Push back cuticles with an orange stick, use a nipper to trim any hangnails, remove dirt and oil with polish remover, and etch the surface with a buffer block—not a nail file, which can damage your nail plate, says manicurist Bernadette Thompson.

Use hot nail polish colors to break up the head-to-toe-black look.

Spice up your little black dress by adding one of this summer’s hottest nail colors—yellow—to your fingertips, like British singer-songwriter and DJ Yasmin. Just keep your makeup simple: Mascara and red lipstick are the only other beauty accessories you’ll need for a night out.

Photo: Dave Hogan/Getty

Ask for your manicure sunny side up.

Mimosas: no longer just for brunch. Chanel Nail Colour in Mimosa, $25, is guaranteed to garner a cult following, brighten up your fingertips and bring a smile to your face.

Slip into a denim-inspired nail polish shade.

Some people match their shoes or purse to their outfit, but why not make your fingertips your boldest accessory instead? Exhibit A: Lauren Conrad coordinates her manicure with her miniskirt and keeps the rest of the look muted. Love!

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty

Chill out in periwinkle nail polish.

Highlight (all) 10 in neon nail polish.

You may not be able to pull off the platinum wig or a thick strip of fake lashes, but try rocking a wild color on your nails like Nicki Minaj. Can’t get away with hot-pink nail polish at the office? Wear it on your toes—even if they’re buried in pumps all week, at least you know there’s a weekendworthy shade waiting for those cute sandals come Friday! The key to making them pop, says Thompson, is doing a base coat of white polish first and layering your bright on top.

Get a midnight manicure.

Slick on a rich ebony nail polish, and don’t forget to add a super-shiny topcoat, like Kate Beckinsale does here, to give nails a patent-leather effect. Thompson’s trick for pulling off dark shades like a pro: Don’t polish right up against your cuticle—colors like red and black tend to run.

Photo: Mark Sullivan/WireImage

Wear black polish the non-Goth way.

Do the funky French manicure.

Put a twist on a classic nail look like polish pro Pattie Yankee did at Tibi’s fall 2011 runway show. To DIY: Dip a skinny detail brush (found at an art supply store) in any traffic-stopping shade, and just slick it along your tips. For more control, try a nail polish pen.

Cheat on the fancy manicure look.

Take a runway fashion trend and sport it on your nails instead.

All-white clothes were all over the spring runways, but we think white looks just as pretty polished on Toni Braxton’s fingertips. Opt for an opaque nail shade to get this mod look, or layer it with a pearly topcoat for a bit of sophisticated shimmer, like CND Effects in Gold Pearl, $11.